H-1B fee of USD 100,000 won't apply to change of status or extension: USCIS

The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has issued a clarification that will come as a small relief to thousands of skilled workers and employers caught in the crosshairs of President Donald Trump’s latest immigration measure. The agency confirmed on Monday that the eye-watering $100,000 fee imposed on new H-1B visa petitions will not apply to those seeking a “change of status” or “extension of stay”.

The guidance, released just weeks after Trump’s 19 September proclamation titled 'Restriction on Entry of Certain Non-immigrant Workers', attempts to tidy up the confusion that followed the announcement. The order raised the cost of new H-1B petitions to a staggering $100,000 (approximately Rs 88 lakh), prompting panic among US-based technology firms and international professionals who rely on the visa to live and work in the country.

The H-1B programme, created to allow American companies to hire foreign professionals in specialised occupations, has long been a mainstay of sectors like information technology, engineering, and medicine. Indians account for roughly 71 per cent of all approved H-1B petitions, according to USCIS data, making them the most directly affected group.

According to the USCIS, the proclamation “does not apply to any previously issued and currently valid H-1B visas, or any petitions submitted prior to 12:01 a.m. eastern daylight time on 21 September 2025”. That means anyone already holding a valid visa, or whose petition was filed before the deadline, is in the clear. Current visa-holders are also free to travel in and out of the United States without being hit by the new charge.

More importantly, the USCIS clarified that the fee applies only to cases filed for individuals outside the country — that is, new entrants.

“The fee only applies to cases filed for people outside the United States, so they can come in,” immigration lawyer Dan Berger of Green & Spiegel told Forbes. “Employers were nervous about doing change-of-status cases because the $100k might apply if they travelled.”

The clarification covers those switching categories within the country, such as international graduates moving from F-1 student status to H-1B employment status. It also spares those extending their stay in the US on the same visa. But if the USCIS later decides that an individual is ineligible for such a change or extension, the six-figure fee could still be enforced.

In practical terms, the fine print makes the policy less draconian for those already embedded in the US system. Yet the broader message — that Washington views skilled migration as a transactional luxury rather than a driver of innovation — remains difficult to ignore.

Under current law, the United States can issue 65,000 H-1B visas each year, with an additional 20,000 set aside for applicants who hold advanced degrees from American universities. Sponsoring firms already face significant administrative and legal costs even before factoring in the newly proposed levy, which many see as an effort to discourage foreign hiring altogether.

Critics of the Trump administration point out that this is merely the latest salvo in a long-running campaign against what the White House calls “abuse” of the visa system.

Previous years saw attempts to tighten eligibility, lengthen processing times, and raise wage thresholds. This latest move, however, strikes even seasoned observers as excessive. As one Silicon Valley executive remarked privately, “You don’t protect American jobs by taxing talent out of the country.”

Unsurprisingly, the backlash has been swift. The US Chamber of Commerce has filed a lawsuit in a Columbia district court, calling the proclamation a “misguided policy and plainly unlawful overreach”. The suit argues that the President exceeded his legal authority and that the measure threatens to damage the very innovation economy the H-1B system was designed to support.

“Tens of thousands of highly skilled people in specialised fields boost the American economy each year after obtaining H-1B status,” the Chamber said, warning that the new fee could deter global talent from choosing the US altogether.

For India’s technology sector — the largest single beneficiary of the H-1B route — the development has revived an old worry: that every American election cycle seems to bring another wave of uncertainty over a programme that should, by now, be an established pillar of bilateral cooperation.

The latest USCIS clarification offers temporary reassurance. Those already in the US can continue their employment or transition from student to professional life without immediate penalty. But for firms hoping to bring in new recruits from abroad, the message is grim: hiring foreign expertise now carries an almost prohibitive price tag.

The irony is unmistakable. For a country that built its global edge on openness and innovation, Washington appears intent on raising barriers precisely where it can least afford to. The administration insists that the fee will deter “misuse” of the visa programme. Critics suggest it will instead deter talent — and that America’s competitors, from Canada to Singapore, will be only too happy to welcome the engineers and researchers it drives away.

With PTI inputs